Minnesota Swarm (3-1 H 2-1 A 1-0)

Buffalo Bandits (2-2 H 1-0 A 1-2)

Friday, February 4, 2011 - 6:30 pm CST
HSBC Arena
Buffalo, New York

Live Statistics

TV/Internet/Radio Coverage:

More Coverage of this game at:

Standings:

Series History:

Last year, the Bandits beat the Swarm 11-7 on January 30, 2010 in Buffalo. Callum Crawford and Aaron Wilson had two goals each for the Swarm. Frank Resetarits had 3 goals and Ken Montour saved 44 of 51 shots for the Bandits. John Tavares did not play in the game for the Bandits.

Personnel:

Minnesota Swarm

Depth Chart

Goaltenders	Defense (Left)	Defense (Right)
Transition (Left)	Transition (Right)	Forwards (Left)	Forwards (Right)

Staff

General Manager	Head Coach	Assistant	Assistant

Buffalo Bandits

Depth Chart

Staff

Your and mine favorite local professional indoor lacrosse team, the Minnesota Swarm, has been remedying concerns that have impeded their progress towards Champions Cup glory the last couple of years. They have actually put together consistent winning efforts which now see them with a three game winning streak, longest since 2008. They have started to win at home with two straight wins there. They are beating teams in division and now stand 3-0 in division play. They are winning those one goal games this year going 2-1 including the overtime win against Washington last week at The Hive courtesy of Ryan Benesch.

The Swarm also have lost eight straight against East Division foes and that can be remeedied soon. To end that streak, they have to beat the orange and black monkey on their backs that is the Buffalo Bandits. They can do that tonight at 6:30 pm Central in Buffalo. Buffalo has been aggravating for the Swarm for all seven years of Swarmdom, winning 13 of 15. The last Swarm win was in 2009 but the Bandits always seem to come out in the end and also tend to win big at times versus the Swarm.

The Swarm almost treat this as a home game similar to Toronto or Rochester due to the fact that many of the players live close by and their family and friends can drive down to see them play in person. Maybe adds a bit of pressure knowing some friendly faces are present just like the Hive. They seem to have got over any perceived pressure at home, maybe they can do the same in Buffalo. Then again, it just may be John Tavares scoring goal after goal after goal on the Swarm.

One player that will have to step up against Buffalo is Nick Patterson. He has struggled badly against the Bandits in his career. In 11 games, Patty has only saved 70% of shots and has a GAA of 15.73. He has failed to finish five starts against the Bandits including last year's game when he was pulled in the second quarter after giving up 5 goals on 14 shots. You get the feeling that based on Nick's work this year that he is ready for a huge performance against Buffalo but it still a huge hurdle to jump over.

The big three of Benesch, Wilson and Crawford each had four ponts last year against Buffalo, incluidng 5 of the Swarm's 7 goals. All three have started 2011 off well and look for them to do well again. Secondary scoring will be needed to get the Swarm over the hump. Is Zack Greer ready to go after an apparent upper body injury last weekend that saw him miss over last ten minutes of the game? Will Kevin Ross continue to build off his best game of the year last week? Cam Sean Pollock or Tim Campeau get it going finally? Campeau was a healthy scratch last week (only 2nd time in his Swarm career) which didn't sit well with him.

The Swarm defense has been very strong all year, giving up just 9.25 goals per game only behind the Wings 9 goals per game. Huge penalty kills have been key especially last week as the Swarm killed off a penalty with 21 seconds left in regulation and for the first 1:39 of overtime to keep their chances alive for eventual victory. Work like that defensively is what will beat the Bandits.

The Bandits still have the league's all-time leading scorer in Tavares, who is leading the Bandits in scoring this year at the age of 42. The Bandits are celebrating 20 years of play this year and Tavares has been there for all 20 and may go another 20 still. In 14 gmaes versus the Swarm, Tavares has 34 goals and 54 assists with three game winning goals. Even with Tavares, the Bandits have struggled offensively with only 9.5 goals per game, tied for last in the league. They acquired Tracey Kelusky from Calgary in the off season and still have Mark Steenhuis but they just are not scoirng enough to win consistnely.

The Bandits have a lot of former Swarm incluiding former Swarm Head Coach Duane Jacobs in an assistant role. Chad Culp (birthday on Feburary 5) joined the Bandits this year along with Jay Thorimbert and Scott Self who the Swarm traded to the Bandits this off season. The Bandits also have Darryl Gibson, who made the 2006 All-Star game with the Swarm and Angus Goodleaf, who the Swarm drafted in 2007 and had on their practice roster in 2008. Goodleaf has now become a solid backup to Mike Thompson in his second season in Buffalo and did well in his first game of the season last weekend in Toronto stopping 28 of 35 shots in a 8-5 loss.

For the fans of fights, the Bandits may accomodate as they are the most penalized team in the league. Fights may start at the face off circle with Brandon Francis who has thrown down in the past against the Swarm. With face off opponents in Travis Hill and Andrew Suitor, this may be a battle that may occur.

Buffalo has been a horror show of losses for the Swarm in their history but this year the Swarm may have the team to beat the Bandits. The Swarm have played better overall than the Bandits this year. Another strong performance by Patterson is the biggest key and limitiing the Bandits offense to just Tavares should see the Swarm eke out a low scoring affair in front of the biggest home floor advantage in the NLL right now, Banditland.

Prediction: Minnesota Swarm 10 Buffalo Bandits 9

Next Games After This Match Up

• Minnesota at Rochester - Saturday, February 12th, 2011 6:35 pm Central
• Buffalo at Philadelphia - Saturday, February 12th, 2011 6:00 pm Central